February 2012
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Diary of a Semi-Professional Comedian: Entry #21
Luxury for the Masses?
Last week 422,000 people tuned in to the hotly anticipated “Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy”. Those aware of Noel’s work whether it be stand-up, performance, art, or even just as Team Captain on Never Mind The Buzzcocks, will no doubt have to admit that he is one incredibly talented man. The build-up to the premiere was MASSIVE (I can only imagine how much was spent making all...
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Diary of a Semi-Professional Comedian: Entry #20
That awkward moment when…
If you’re not aware of this opening line, you’re most likely not on Twitter. It’s become the online equivalent of, “I know what you’re thinking… <Random celebrity> has let themselves go…”
As lazy as it is, however, we are drawn to hearing, sharing and empathising with others’ awkward moments. And in the...
December 2011
1 post
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November 2011
2 posts
You can now listen to and download the first Pun...
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October 2011
5 posts
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wordsinorange asked: "If you headline or MC a gig where the audience pay money and you’re not offered anything in return… that’s a dealbreaker!" TOTALLY. I went to comment on this and realised it's tumblr. lol x
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Diary of a Semi-Professional Comedian: Entry #19
My Favourite London Open Mic Nights & Tips For New Performers
A lot of people have been asking me recently what nights I would recommend for newcomers, or for trying out new material, so here are a few of my favourites. Many nights won’t book acts unless they have seen them perform previously, so I have left those out as they tend to be overwhelmed by gig requests as it is. If...
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Diary of a Semi-Professional Comedian: Entry #18
Even Whores Get Paid
I was slipped a £10 note after a gig the other night which surprised me. Not because I’m not used to getting paid (your Mum pays me all the time - Heyooo!*), but because it was a new material night. I’d only done 5 or so minutes and it was experimental at that, so I wasn’t expecting any payment. Comedians do new material nights because the payment IS being...
September 2011
9 posts
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Bec Hill's Occasional Favourite Ads #4
Ok, so I don’t love this because it’s an amazing concept, or it’s well-filmed or anything. It’s not even for a product, it’s for a new reality TV show/documentary on Channel 4. But it makes it into this segment because the first 8 seconds crack me up every time, no fail:
Educating Essex - Channel 4
I think they missed a trick by not calling it “Essex...
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Alternative Topshop T-Shirts
Reading about the recent Topman debacle, all I could think was: “But why can’t I ever find a funny slogan on a girl’s t-shirt?”
So ladies, if your man owns one of these…
Then I suggest you wear one of these:
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Lorcranium: Bec Hill at the Black Box in Belfast... →
lorcychief:
*Wednesday, September seveneth, didn’t want to mess up the alliteration.
Looking forward to supporting Bec Hill tomorrow at the Black Box, Belfast, along with one of my favorite comedians on the circuit, Northern Irish comedy podcast chronicler, and now improv supremo …
Your cheque is in the post!
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Diary of a Semi-Professional Comedian: Entry #17
TOP 3 THINGS I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO IN A SET:
Every now and then, I think of something and I announce in a confident and loud voice, “I am going to do that on stage!” Then, inevitably I don’t (usually because it involves too much planning and practice). But here, we can all imagine how awesome it would be if I did any of the following…
No. 3: MAGIC! I’ve always...
August 2011
5 posts
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Diary of a Semi-Professional Comedian: Entry #16
TOP 5 THINGS COMEDIANS DO NOT WANT TO HEAR AFTER THEIR SET:
Because comedy is subjective, a gig can both kill in one room and die on its arse in another. Sadly, we all have to experience the latter at some point. So, for those who watch a lot of comedy (both punters and comics) here are the Top 5 Things You Shouldn’t Say To A Comedian (discounting obvious things like, “you...
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Oh! Noooow I get it!
I’ve only just started watching Mad Men, but I finally get some references on 30 Rock I’d missed before!
When Liz’s Mum is reminiscing about her one true love, she says, “It wasn’t that simple, Liz. I had just graduated from secretarial school and I got a job at Sterling-Cooper.”
Also, I only just noticed this: Jack offering Steve Austin (John Slattery) a glass of...
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Why I'm tempted to move from London to New York:...
Rockefeller Center (NBC)
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..
…
BBC Television Centre.
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A Rude Awakening...
Pfft. Papped. In my very own bedroom. What’s the world coming to?
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A GIF from me to you...
Over on my comics blog, I’ve popped this up, but it took me so long, I figured there was no harm in posting it here too…
mylifeasastickperson:
July 2011
10 posts
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My boyfriend is "Tom" from Daria...
I’ve always told my boyfriend he looks a lot like Daria’s “Tom”, but it wasn’t until I took this photo that he saw the resemblance.
Now to find a time machine so I can go back and tell teenage-me…
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My favourite "Curb Your Enthusiasm" moment:
I just love Jerry’s reaction to Marty Funkhouser’s joke. (Apologies for the dodgy GIF action. It’s not my forte.)
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Diary of a Semi-Professional Comedian: Entry #14
Creating a joke is like creating a baby. It can be fun, exhausting and most people I know conceive them by accident.
So if our jokes are like our children, then there are two common types of comedy-parents I see in the stand-up industry: stage-parents and over-protective-parents.
Stage-parent comedians are the ones who are always pushing their jokes out there, forcing them to perform even when...
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A Sweet Decision by Lord Sugar
Watching The Apprentice last night, I bet I wasn’t the only one who wanted sweet, lovely Tom to win, but was convinced that the 250k investment was going to either headstrong-Helen, or the overly charming Jim. Why? Because it appears that anyone who seems to get any where in Business has s**tloads of douchiness (or as I like to call it, SOD).
You might use SOD to back-stab your workmates in...
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Bec Hill's Occasional Favourite Ads #3
Trebor Mints: Sweet Success
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BEES!!!
(Source: Filmdrunk)
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Diary of a Semi-Professional Comedian: Entry #13
You’ve got to be in it to win it. Or do you?
With the announcement of ITV1’s new X-Factor-style stand-up show, Show Me The Funny, I’ve been thinking about comedy competitions and their place in the industry. Having started stand-up in Australia’s Raw Comedy competition myself, I’m aware of how important they are in encouraging emerging talent. However, what happens when a contest, such...
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Let's Have a Quick Look At: Typography
I’ve come across some inspired typography in videos recently - particularly in music clips - and wanted to share them with you.
To introduce typography, you may remember this ol’ chestnut from Sesame Street:
From the videos below, you can see just how far we’ve come with the advancement of computer animation and filming techniques (it helps that the songs are darn catchy...
June 2011
8 posts
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To Theme or Not to Theme: A Response to my...
My amazing friend, Jordan, sent me this brilliant message in response to my last entry about whether I should write a show with a theme, or attempt an hour of themeless comedy:
Hi Bec, I enjoyed your recent post so I thought I’d share some of the ideas it triggered off for me. I think you are right when you talk about needing boundaries to structure your work - when you can do ANYTHING,...
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Diary of a Semi-Professional Comedian: Entry #11
I’ve always been a fan of themes.
Whether you’re talking parties, blogs, parks - you name it - chances are, I will enjoy it more if it has a theme of some sort.
I’ve always felt that a theme creates focus in a world which is otherwise disorganised, erratic and irrational. A theme allows you to let all outside issues lay dormant while you pinpoint something in particular and...
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Diary of a Semi-Professional Comedian: Entry #10
Being a semi-professional comedian is like being in comedy purgatory. You’re certainly not “just going through a phase”, but you’re in no position to make a living from of it.
Of course that doesn’t stop you from trying.
Every time I finish a temp contract, or come back from a Comedy Festival to find that in an amazing lack of foresight my boss has hired too many...
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White Ninja FTW
Source: White Ninja Comics
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Diary of a Semi-Professional Comedian: Entry #9
Last year, I was asked by the kind folks at 2D to do my show, “If You Can Read This, My Cape Fell Off” as part of their Comics Festival in Derry. However, a few days before the Festival, it became apparent that mainly children would be attending. While it wasn’t an offensive show, a lot of the material was aimed at adults, so I ended up gutting the show entirely; keeping a few...
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May 2011
12 posts
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Diary of a Semi-Professional Comedian: Entry #8
Today I should be getting some writing done, so naturally, I’ve been online all morning, looking for things to distract myself with.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to look far, because some kid had somehow come across a Facebook page I’d created for a pun-based Comedy Competition I am looking to organise later this year. Given it so far only has a tiny following, I didn’t...
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Things that bothered me as a child:
The song “We All Know Frogs Go La-Di-Da-Di-Da”. One of my earliest memories is standing on top of a table in playgroup when I was 4 and screaming, “FROGS DON’T GO LA-DI-DA-DI-DA!!! THEY GO RIBBIT!!!”
This scene from Beauty and The Beast: I didn’t have a problem with The Beast, or the talking furniture, or even the unrealistic expectations of what a beautiful...
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Bec Hill's Occasional Favourite Ads #2
I forgot one! This ad is also awesome:
Touch: Skittles
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Bec Hill's Occasional Favourite Ads #1
Those of you who know me will know that I love ads. Those of you who don’t know me… well… I love ads. Three in particular have stuck out for me recently, so I thought I’d post them here for you to enjoy. Let this be the first of several occasional posts about ads that I like! Hooray! The Force: Volkswagen
The kid’s “expressions” in this are priceless....
A retired transportation worker in New York spent...